Entertaining in the Backyard

You all know how much I love entertaining. This special dinner was for our family and I absolutely loved how it came out.

Last night we hosted a dinner for our family in our backyard. The dinner was for my husband’s family and was in honor of my father in law. I wanted to make this dinner really special and I was happy to be able to share my love for entertaining. 

The setting was perfect and the lighting really made for a very special evening. Even Sport was enjoying the evening.

The Secret to Entertaining

It’s simple. Create a magical experience. I love to create an outdoor dining room with my vintage posts. I wanted to try some new lighting so I created these lights. I love them so much!

I love to create a nice experience for my dinner guests. I set up an “outdoor dining room” in a unique place and do everything I can to make it magical. 

Setting the Backyard

A year ago (or maybe even longer) I made some wood table toppers that sit snugly on top of regular folding tables.

We use these table toppers all of the time and I will be sharing the DIY to make these later this week.

I love to create an “outdoor dining room” because it makes the evening seem so intimate. I found these old porch posts at a vintage sale. The posts have a hollow center. So I figured out that if I put a metal stake in the ground and pound it in then the posts could stand up securely.

I added a wood frame on top of the posts to keep the post secure. I used 1″ x 3″ wood boards that were 12′ long and they worked perfectly.

I also added a board through the middle to use to hang my lights and greens.

Making the Place Cards

Next, I decided to make new place cards. But my daughter in law Charlotte has mastered the Cricut machine and she made these for me! 

So many of you have asked if I could make these custom place cards and Charlotte makes them. They are perfect for holidays, dinner parties, and family gatherings. I reuse these all of the time. 

Charlotte has an Instagram called Peony Perfection and she added these place cards to her Etsy Store. She also sells personalized Starbucks cups and I love them. You should see the Halloween cups she has in stock. Head to her Etsy store!

Don’t these place cards look amazing? I love the border.

I made these stenciled napkins (with a stencil I made with my glue gun!). You can find the DIY here.

I can’t wait to use these place cards again.

Making and Hanging the Lights

If you have seen some of my previous parties then you know that I have used the hanging cafe lights almost every time. I really wanted to do something different and I love how these turned out.

I bought these hanging lights and these wire lanterns. 

Of course, I couldn’t leave them black.

So I painted them with Metallic Rose Gold/Copper Paint.

I added the lights to the lanterns to the hanging lights. I used some copper wire to secure the lanterns (you can see the wire in the photo).

Of course, you don’t need to paint the lanterns. You could also paint them gold or silver or any color.

Next, I hung some faux greenery. I have used fresh greens in the past but it’s been so hot that I was afraid they might wilt.

I added sunflower centerpieces and used my favorite inexpensive copper candlesticks.

This table setting is one of my favorite entertaining evenings!

For dinner. I served the most delicious. taco bar.

This was the coziest and most intimate setting ever. It was so magical.

 

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